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Statistical Advance: Analyzing the TSI Harley-Davidson Classic at Stafford Motor Speedway

The 25th season of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will continue with the TSI Harley-Davidson Classic at Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway on Friday, May 22.

Stafford Motor Speedway Data
Race #3 of 14 (5-22-09)
Track Layout: .5-mile flat oval
• A horse racing track for more than seven decades, the half-mile dirt oval started holding auto races following WW II.
• Became a NASCAR track in 1959 and was paved in 1967.
• Has held a total of 91 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour races.
• This is the second of four races that the NWMT will hold at Stafford Motor Speedway in 2009.

Qualifying/Race Data
2008 pole winner: Chuck Hossfeld (99.272 mph, 18.132 seconds)
2008 race winner: Chuck Hossfeld (62.449 mph, 1:30.30)
Track qualifying record: Matt Hirschman (99.905 mph, 18.009 seconds, 4-28-07)

NWMT Active Win Leaders at SMS
1. Mike Stefanik, 20
2. Reggie Ruggiero, 9
Ted Christopher, 9
4. Ed Flemke Jr., 3
Todd Szegedy, 3

NWMT Active Pole Leaders at SMS
1. Mike Stefanik, 15
2. Reggie Ruggiero, 7
3. Donny Lia, 6
4. Rob Summers, 4
5. Ted Christopher, 3

At Stafford Motor Speedway:
• Since the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour formed in 1985, there have been 91 races at Stafford Motor Speedway.
• The 2009 TSI Harley-Davidson Classic is 100 laps ... The inaugural edition of this race in 1985 was also 100 laps, as were the 1987 and 1990 races.
• There have been 28 different race winners at SMS, led by Mike Stefanik's 20 victories.
• There have been 34 different pole winners at SMS, led by Stefanik's 15.
• Ted Christopher won the first of four NWMT races at SMS in 2009 on April 26.
• Christopher had the longest win streak in the history of the NWMT at SMS with four-straight victories from Sept. 30, 2001 to Aug. 23, 2002.
• The entry list for the 2009 TSI Harley-Davidson Classic features nine drivers who have won at SMS during their careers.

Last Time Out:
• For the second time in as many tries this year, Ted Christopher earned the Coors Light Pole Award and a trip to Victory Lane as he captured the Tech-Net Spring Sizzler presented by CARQUEST on April 26 at Stafford Motor Speedway ... The win was Christopher's fourth NWMT Spring Sizzler triumph, which tied him with Mike Stefanik for the most in the race's history.
• The lead changed 10 times during the race ... Christopher led three different times in the race for 125 laps ... Todd Szegedy, Stefanik, Ryan Preece and Rowan Pennink also recorded laps led ... Pennink's seven laps led were the first of his career.

Selected Driver Highlights:
Eric Beers (No. 46 Chevrolet)
• Has two wins and nine poles in 129 career starts ... Has earned two poles at Stafford Motor Speedway.
• Finished 16th in the first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race of 2009 at SMS.
• Finished sixth in the 2008 NWMT season standings ... Career-best points finish was fifth in 2005.

Jimmy Blewett (No. 12 Chevrolet)
• Has four wins and one pole in 64 career starts ... Earned his first win at SMS in 2008.
• Placed ninth in the first NWMT race at SMS this year.
• Finished ninth in the 2008 standings ... Career-best points finish was eighth in 2007.

Ted Christopher (No. 36 Chevrolet)
• The 2008 NWMT champion.
• Has 33 wins and 20 poles in 267 career starts ... Has at least one win in 11 consecutive seasons ... His 33 wins rank fourth on the all-time list and his 20 poles rank ninth.
• Earned the Coors Light Pole Award and a trip to Victory Lane in the 2009 opener at Thompson International Speedway on April 5 and repeated that accomplishment at SMS on April 26.
• Has nine wins and three poles in his NWMT career at SMS.
• Has NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour wins this year at Concord (N.C.) Speedway and Caraway Speedway in Asheboro, N.C.

Doug Coby (No. 19 Chevrolet)
• Has one win, one pole and 27 top 10s in 83 career starts ... His win came in the 2006 Spring Sizzler at SMS.
• Suffered a blown engine in the first race at SMS in 2009 and finished 28th.

Ed Flemke Jr. (No. 10 Chevrolet)
• Has 17 wins and 15 poles in 372 career starts ... He has three wins and two poles at SMS.
• Has made a record 313 consecutive starts ... The last time he did not start an NWMT race was on July 22, 1992 at Riverside Park Speedway.
• Finished 10th in the Spring Sizzler, the first NWMT race of the year at SMS.
• Finished 11th in the 2008 NWMT standings ... Best career points finishes were runner-up campaigns in 2004 and 2006.

Donny Lia (No. 4 Dodge)
• The 2007 NWMT champion.
• Has 11 wins, 13 poles and 45 top 10s in 99 career starts ... Has two wins and six poles at SMS.
• Finished sixth in the first SMS race in 2009, the Spring Sizzler.

Chris Pasteryak (No. 52 Chevrolet)
• Has five top 10s in 16 career starts.
• Finished fifth in the Spring Sizzler at SMS.
• Will compete full-time in the NWMT in 2009 after running partial schedules in 2005 and 2006 and serving as crew chief for his father, Charlie, in 2007 and 2008.

Rowan Pennink (No. 93 Chevrolet)
• Has nine top 10s in 32 career starts.
• Led his first career laps at SMS in the Spring Sizzler, but finished 26th after wrecking on Lap 176.
• Improved from 17th in points as a rookie in 2007 to eighth as a sophomore a year ago.

Woody Pitkat (No. 28 Chevrolet)
• Has eight top 10s in 19 career starts.
• Hometown is Stafford, Conn.
• Finished seventh in the Spring Sizzler.

Ryan Preece (No. 3 Chevrolet)
• Has two poles, a win and 12 top 10s in 32 career starts ... His first pole came at SMS.
• Finished third in the first 2009 race at SMS ... Has led laps in four of the last five SMS races.
• Finished 10th in points as a sophomore in 2008 after a 19th place showing as a rookie in 2007.

Erick Rudolph (No. 59 Chevrolet)
• Has five top 10s in 11 career starts.
• Has DNF's in both starts in 2009.
• Recorded five top 10s in nine starts as a rookie in 2008 ... Earned Sunoco Rookie of the Race honors in six of those nine outings.

Reggie Ruggiero (No. 14 Ford)
• Has 44 wins, 27 poles and 225 top 10s in 415 career starts ... His 44 wins rank second in series history and his 27 poles are tied for fourth with Jan Leaty.
• Has eight wins and seven poles in his career at SMS ... Last win came in May, 1993.
• Was involved in a Lap 2 accident in the Spring Sizzler and finished last.

Ron Silk (No. 79 Pontiac)
• Has three wins, a pole and 25 top 10s in 58 career starts ... All three wins have come at TIS.
• Finished eighth in the SMS Spring Sizzler on April 26.
• Has finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the points standings the last two seasons.

Mike Stefanik (No. 16 Pontiac)
• The 1989, 1991, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002 and 2006 NWMT champion.
• Has 69 wins, 42 poles and 256 top 10s in 383 career starts ... Holds NWMT record for most championships, wins, poles, top fives and top 10s.
• Is the all-time wins and poles leader at SMS with 20 and 15, respectively.
• Led 26 laps and finished fourth in the first 2009 race at SMS.

Todd Szegedy (No. 2 Ford)
• The 2003 NWMT champion.
• Has 13 wins, five poles and 69 top 10s in 112 career starts ... Three wins and two poles have come at SMS.
• Was the Spring Sizzler runner-up to Ted Christopher and led 33 laps.
• Has the best win percentage of any active driver, earning a trip to Victory Lane one out of every nine starts.

Jamie Tomaino (No. 99 Chevrolet)
• The 1990 NWMT champion.
• Has three wins, six poles and 234 top 10s in 501 career starts.
• His 25 laps led in the opener at TIS were his first since the 2005 Spring Sizzler at SMS.
• Become the first driver in series history to start 500 races at the Icebreaker ... Has missed only four of the 504 races in the history of the NWMT (1985-pr.) ... Is the only driver along with Carl Pasteryak to make a start in each of the first 25 years of the NWMT.
• One of his three career wins was the 1986 Fall Final at SMS.

Upcoming Milestones/Benchmarks:
• Donny Lia is slated to make his 100th career start.
• Ed Flemke Jr. is expected to extend his record consecutive starts streak to 314.
• Jamie Tomaino will extend his series record for starts to 502.
• Mike Stefanik's next victory would make him the eighth driver in NASCAR history to earn 70 wins in a series ... All others on the list accomplished the feat in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
• Ted Christopher's next pole would put him in sole possession of eight on the all-time list with 21.
• Christopher is two wins shy of tying Tony Hirschman for third on the all-time list at 35.
• Lia's next win would place him in a tie with Richie Evans and George Kent for 14th on the all-time series wins list at 12.